Tutu's Company
by temlim
Summary: And they thought it couldn't be done. Finally, Inu and gang are where they belong--ballet class! IK
1. How Did That Happen?

A/N: I know. Starting a new story while still in the middle of the old one. But I just ran into a bit of a plot problem with my other fic, so I thought, why not try something new while I'm thinking about it? Besides, the other title looked so lonely, the only one on my page...  
  
Disclaimer: Don't even own any merchandise, let alone the real thing.  
  
Tutu's Company

1. How Did That Happen?  
  
"Come on Kagome, please?" Kagome sighed and looked away from her best friend's pouting face. "Please, please, please?" Sango batted what Kagome had always considered unfairly long eyelashes, sensing that her friend was close to giving in.  
  
"Sango, don't bat your eyes at me, that only works with susceptible male fifteen-year-old ticket sellers at the movies. And please stop begging. It's so uncharacteristic that it is seriously creeping me out!"  
  
Sango grinned unabashedly, "Well, logic wasn't working on you, so I thought I'd resort to my feminine charms." She placed short-nailed hands on sassy hips and winked.  
  
"Oh god," groaned Kagome, burying her face in her hands, "Nou're not going to stop, are you?"  
  
"Nope," agreed Sango cheerfully. "Now listen, there are three very good reasons why you should do this with me. One: you said you wanted an extracurricular to keep you out of the shrine and look good on college applications. Two: It's an incredible all-body workout--"  
  
Kagome shot Sango a death-glare, "I hope you are not implying, oh-bestest- friend, that I need an all-body workout?"  
  
"Not yet, Kagome, but you are approaching the danger years. You know, they say one of the real reasons for the freshman fifteen is that eighteen is the natural time for a young woman's body to start bulking up in preparation for childbirth," Sango raised her voice to be heard over Kagome's renewed groaning. "Now, as I was saying, a great workout, and three: it's wonderful for your balance and helps to tone up your body for martial arts."  
  
"But I don't do martial arts!" wailed Kagome.  
  
"Well, we'll sign you up for that just as soon as we get you started on ballet. And if your balance improves, you won't have to worry about any more little incidents like yesterday at lunch, hmm?" Fire engines would have been embarrassed of their pallor if they had been compared to Kagome's face at that point. Sango allowed herself a smirk at the sight of her best friend's rosy cheeks. She knew that little tripping-and-accidentally-throwing-a-bowl-full-of-lukewarm-goulash-over-an-available-male incident would come in handy. She went in for the kill. "Now, our first lesson is tomorrow at three. You need to have a leotard, tights, and shoes." Kagome knew when she was beaten. "Fine," she said, pouting, "but no way am I ever wearing a tutu."  
  
"Come on, Kagome, I thought you wanted to look more feminine for Hojo..." Sango let her voice trail off, and jumped out of the way of Kagome's incoming arm.  
  
"Forget it," said Kagome. "He can just work on looking more masculine."  
  
"And less goulash-enhanced?" Sango easily sidestepped a small fist aimed straight for her head.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"NO! No, no, no, no." A loud masculine voice could be heard drifting out of a suburban house window. The house was very ordinary, two stories, small flower garden, white with green trim. The voice was not ordinary. It seemed to have reverberations much deeper than was found in the normal male register. It was gruffer too. Almost, one might say, furry.  
  
"Come on, Inuyasha. Please?"  
  
"Hell no! Do I look gay to you?" Inuyasha, owner of the angry voice, whipped around to stare at his, formerly, best friend, his long white hair swirling around him. After this latest scheme of Miroku's, Inuyasha was a little worried. Friend was friend, but there were some lines that he just wasn't willing to cross. Ever. For anyone. These lines tended to consist of things like sequins, feathers, and tights.  
  
"It'll be a great way to meet some new people," Miroku's voice was low and reasonable as always.  
  
"Girls, you mean," Inuyasha shot back with a glare.  
  
"The only people worth meeting," Miroku agreed, letting a lecherous smirk touch the corners of his lips. "Come on, you don't want to start a new school without knowing anyone at all, do you?"  
  
"Somehow I'd rather start school knowing no one than being known as a...a..." he stumbled to a stop, a slight flush rising in his cheeks.  
  
"Ballerina?" Miroku helpfully supplied.  
  
"Keh." Inuyasha turned back to his window.  
  
"You know," Miroku commented, as if it had just occurred to him, "they say that dance is really good for the martial arts. Apparently it helps you develop your balance and flexibility while toning your body."  
  
Inuyasha snorted, "Like I need any help with my martial arts."  
  
Miroku's lips turned up as he heard the usual Inuyasha-arrogance. Now he had him. "I heard that you and Sesshomaru got into a little fight the other day," he said. It was a low blow, as he was well aware if the smirk on his face was any indication.  
  
The rivalry between Inuyasha and his older half-brother had reached epic proportions within the last couple of years. In their old town, the two's squabbling had become the thing of local legend. Mothers would point to pieces of barren ground and tell their children of the two half-brothers who couldn't get along. At recess, school children would whisper stories of the battles held for hours, days even, at a time. As a last resort, babysitters were known to whip out their cell phones and threaten to call over one of the white-haired two.  
  
Miroku could tell that his last comment had made an impression by the way the muscles on his friend's jaw were twitching. Finally, the other boy looked up to meet his eyes. "Fuck. Okay, you win, monk, even though I know you are only doing this for your own perverted reasons."  
  
Miroku smiled, "All I ask is that you be there. Tomorrow, three o'clock."  
  
"Fine, but no way am I wearing a tutu."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

All noise stopped as they entered the room.  
  
"Kagome," hissed Sango, "Did you have to go for the leopard print? Couldn't you have opted for sober black like everyone else? And the fluorescent pink tights really don't match."  
  
Kagome just smiled. As far as she was concerned, if Sango was feeling a little embarrassed, well, that was just fine. She wasn't the one being dragged to sissy dance classes against her will. She had brought it upon herself, coercing Kagome like that.  
  
As the two girls went to stand at the barre, their teacher suddenly twirled around. "Hello class, my name is Kaede. We have four new students joining us this summer. Are you all here?" she looked around. "No, I can see that you aren't. Hmm. Well, will you two please introduce yourselves?"  
  
Sango stepped forward, "Certainly Kaede-sensei. My name is Sango and my former friend with the appalling fashion sense is Kagome." Kagome gave a half-smile to the crowd and waved at the teacher. "Hi!" she chirped.  
  
"Right," Kaede nodded her head. "Okay everyone, places. Lets do plies in first, second, and fourth."  
  
Ohmigod, Kagome thought with a glance at Sango, it's a foreign language. Staring at the teacher, she tried to imitate her foot position, then began bending her knees. It was at that point that she learned that ballet was not as wussy as she'd always thought it was. It was, in fact, damn hard.  
  
"Watch your turn-out, Kagome. Shoulders back and down." Kaede called above the noise of the music. And so the lesson proceeded. Sango, with her slim build and natural grace, took to ballet like a worm to a compost heap. Kagome was more like a swan attempting to tango. With a bull.  
  
"I swear to god, Sango, my body was not built for this," Kagome huffed, trying to get into a position in which her knee would touch her ear. Two body parts, she had always felt, that should be kept far away from each other. Luckily, at that moment there was a commotion at the doors.  
  
"Come on," a male voice could be heard, "you don't look that bad!"  
  
"It's not me I'm worried about," another male voice growled back, "it's you!"  
  
"What's wrong with me?" the first voice asked, sounding more amused than offended.  
  
"Your tights are...are...are..."  
  
"Purple. I know. What's wrong with that?"  
  
Sango and Kagome exchanged glances with each other, then with everyone else in the room. It sounded like the other new students had arrived. Kagome took advantage of Kaede's distraction to sit down on the floor, her back up against a mirror. Kaede moved towards the studio doors and threw them open.  
  
"I assume you are my other two new students," she said. "Come in. You are twenty minutes late. I trust that won't happen again?"  
  
"No ma'am," the one on the left answered, wearing a very innocent expression in addition to the aforementioned purple tights. His friend mostly wore a furious blush. Which only got worse as Miroku opened his mouth again. "I just had some trouble getting Inu here into his tights, ma'am."  
  
"Shut up," the one called Inu glared at the other.  
  
"Ah, I see," said Kaede, "and that would make you...?"  
  
"Miroku, ma'am. Here to learn." And he swept the instructor an elaborate bow.


	2. A Dream Come True

A/N: Ha! And you thought I would never add more to this story... Of course, I'm supposed to be working on my other one right now, especially considering how long updates are taking (sorry about that--I'm having computer troubles, though they should be worked out by the end of this month), but I just wanted to get this story moving along a little!  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own what? Oh, right. Sigh.  
  
2. A Dream Come True  
  
Miroku was pretty sure that he had died and gone to heaven. Everywhere, everywhere he looked, on all sides, he was surrounded by girls, all of them wearing skintight leotards while bending and stretching. He sighed in pure contentment. "Pinch me, Inu," he said.  
  
Inuyasha was only too happy to oblige. Kaede glared in their direction as a loud "Ouch!" reverberated throughout the room, disrupting the beat. Kagome giggled behind her hand, momentarily forgetting the pain of trying to touch her nose to the back of her knee. Beside her, Sango was blissfully unaware of the commotion in the room as she, with beautiful natural turn out, gracefully extended one leg in a perfect point.  
  
Across the room, holding on to the barre, another graceful girl was keenly aware of the four new students. Her dark hair pulled back in a perfect ballerina bun, Kikyo was eying the additions to the class.   
  
Kikyo had been the undisputed champion of Kaede's summer ballet class for the last three years. With her naturally thin and graceful build and her surprisingly strong musculature, she had been able to dance rings around all the other students. She always starred in the end-of-summer recital, and she was always revered by the other students. Now she was sizing up the competition.  
  
She wasn't too worried. The girl with the appalling fashion sense obviously had far to go before she was even a tolerable dancer. She didn't have enough flexibility, her shoulders were too stiff, and her hair was coming out of its ponytail and falling across her face. Kikyo patted her own perfect hair. Plus, the new girl was giggling in an extremely undignified manner.  
  
The girl next to her would provide fiercer competition. She had natural grace and good flexibility; she was poised, and she appeared to be enjoying herself. Well, it looked like Kikyo had found her competitor for the year. A little challenge always made her work that much harder. She allowed a small smile to flicker across her pale face before turning her attention to the boys who had joined up. After all, she would need a partner to dance opposite her in the recital.  
  
Kikyo glanced at the one in the purple tights and raised an eyebrow. He was all right, but his friend looked far more interesting. The one he had called Inu, who had loudly insisted that his name was "Inuyasha, not Inu." He was sulking at the moment, but she had a feeling about him, there was almost an aura of...power around him. Very strong, he looked. "Interesting," she said.  
  
"What'd you say?" said the girl next to her.  
  
"I said your arm is supposed to be in second position, not fourth," Kikyo replied coolly. The girl flushed and corrected her arms.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kagome was ecstatic when the hour-long lesson was over. "Thank you, Kaede-sensei!" she shouted as she ran out the studio. Sango followed at a more sedate pace.  
  
"My legs," Kagome groaned just outside of the studio door where she had immediately doubled up, leaning against the wall. "Sango, will you carry me to the dressing room? Please?"  
  
"I'll do it!" an enthusiastic male voice called. Kagome straightened up so quickly that she almost fell over.  
  
"Who? What?"  
  
"Miroku, of course, at your service." He leaned a little closer, dark hair slipping across his forehead, and lowered his voice, "For now and always." Kagome blushed.  
  
"Ummm. Thanks. Ummm. I think Sango is going to..."  
  
"Ah, is that the name of this fair charmer?" Miroku pointed his most adorable smile at the graceful girl he had noticed earlier.  
  
Sango glanced at him and raised her eyebrows. But before she had an opportunity to say anything, the other new boy spoke up. Kagome did a double take; she hadn't even heard him arrive, although, to be fair, she hadn't heard Miroku either, and he wasn't exactly the subtle type.  
  
"Ignore him," he said. "He's always like this. If you pay attention, it just gets worse."  
  
"My colleague is just jealous," Miroku announced. "Inuyasha, if you don't mind, the ladies and I were having a conversation."  
  
"Jealous?" Sango asked. "Of what?"  
  
"Well," Miroku smiled, as if he had been waiting for someone to ask, "my dashing good looks, my impeccable fashion sense, my well-bred air. The list goes on."  
  
"Obviously no need for him to envy your modesty," Kagome said.  
  
"Fashion sense?" repeated Sango, with a pointed look at Miroku's purple- encased legs.  
  
"But of course, my dear," Miroku swept her a bow, "I am always at the height of the new trends."  
  
"More like falling off the height and crashing down the side of a deep chasm of idiocy, hitting every gauche boulder on the way," the one called Inuyasha snorted. Kagome glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as her lips formed a small smile. Gauche? That was a vocabulary word she hadn't expected to come from his lips. He looked incredibly nonchalant about the whole thing, but she could tell that he was uncomfortable by the way he kept shifting from foot to foot. "Can we go now? I want to get out of these fu...ummm" he glanced at Sango and Kagome, "clothes."  
  
"But of course," said Miroku, "I don't think that they would allow us in the ice cream parlor dressed like this." He gave the girls a quick once over, "Although, you two, I am sure," he continued, "They would practically drag through the door." He smiled.  
  
"Right," said Sango staring at him, "Come on Kags, lets go."  
  
As they headed towards the female dressing room, Kagome leaned close to Sango, "Do you think he was trying to be charming?" she asked.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Emerging from the changing room, Kagome and Sango nearly tripped over Miroku who was sitting just outside the door.  
  
"Ready?" he asked, springing to his feet and offering them his arms. They stared at him in open consternation.  
  
"Ready?" Kagome parroted.  
  
"Ready for what?" Sango continued, easily evading his outstretched arm.  
  
"Ice cream of course."  
  
"Ice cream?" Kagome continued her parrot imitation.  
  
"Yes, we were all going to go to the ice cream parlor together, remember? Now hurry up, Inuyasha's waiting." And Miroku swept down the hallway without giving them a chance to reply. Surprised into acquiescence (this was one of Miroku's best tactics and he had spent ages in perfecting it to get the timing just right) the two girls trailed after him down the hallway.  
  
Inuyasha was leaning against the outside of the building, trying to look as if the sign above him did not say "Dance Classes: Ballet, Tap, and Jazz," and almost pulling it off. Kagome had to do a double take just to make sure that the sign hadn't changed to, say, "Men Doing Cool and Manly Things that Would Not Make Them Feel Insecure About Their Masculinity in Any Way, and Incidentally, Would Not Involve Wearing Tights Which are Just About the Most Uncomfortable Garment Created By Mankind."  
  
Inuyasha nodded at Miroku, "Took you long enough." Inwardly he marveled. How Miroku managed it, he would never know. Somehow he could always get girls to go out with him. He claimed that it was all in the approach, 'you've just got to be confident and girls will beg to be allowed to look at you' he used to say. Just wait 'til they find out what a lech he is, though. Inuyasha snorted softly to himself. The taller one looked like she might have a mean right hook. The shorter one probably would be useless in a fight, though. Unless, of course, she was trying to blind the enemy with her absolutely atrocious wardrobe.  
  
He eyed Kagome's outfit with some interest--some sort of tight polka dot pants with a loud print shirt. Polka dots for the love of god, one half of his brain protested. Tight though, the other half pointed out in way that showed that it obviously approved of this aspect of Kagome's pants. Inuyasha ignored that half. He'd noticed her giggling in class, too. Obviously she was some flighty, untrustworthy chick with more polka dots on her pants than brain cells in her head.  
  
Kagome, blissfully unaware of all that was going on in Inuyasha's head, smiled up at him. "Hi!" she said.  
  
"Hmph," Inuyasha snorted. Yep, as he'd expected, words of one syllable were apparently all she could manage.  
  
"Inuya--" Miroku began, but before he could continue to lecture his friend in manners, a task that he undertook quite frequently, another girl walked up.  
  
Graceful and confident, Kikyo walked up to the long-haired boy she'd noticed earlier. "Hello, my name is Kikyo." She smiled coolly and extended her hand. "You're Inuyasha. You have quite a lot of power in your leaps." She practically purred the word 'power' as she gave him a seductive glance. She started to walk away, "See you next class," she called back over her shoulder.  
  
Sango and Kagome stared after her. "How rude. She didn't even acknowledge the rest of us."  
  
Miroku punched his friend in the shoulder, "Woohoo, did you see that?"  
  
Inuyasha tried to close his mouth. No polka dots there, that was for sure.  
  
"Oh for the love of... Come on" said Kagome, tugging on Sango. "Are we going to go for ice cream or stand here drooling?"  
  
"Drooling, definitely," said Miroku falling into step beside them. Inuyasha brought up the rear.


	3. The Best Way to Break the Ice

A/N: Hello everyone! A little more on this fic. I know it has been ages since I've updated, so thank you all for your patience!

Disclaimer: Still don't own it.

3. The Best Way to Break the Ice

Kagome sighed happily over her ice cream. Double chocolate chip fudge swirl smothered in a warm chocolate topping. Life just didn't get much better than that. She leaned back, the plastic cushions molding themselves to her body, and closed her eyes.

"Mmmm," she said with a smile.

Miroku watched her with his mouth open. "I almost feel like we should leave," he muttered just loud enough for Inuyasha to hear. "I've never seen anyone have such a...physical response to ice cream."

"No kidding," replied Inuyasha, his eyes fixed on the oblivious girl's face. "Hey Kagome," he said loudly.

Kagome's eyes snapped open. "Huh?" she said.

"Maybe you and your little treat there should get a room..."

"Hmmm," said Kagome, not really listening. There was the perfect bite if she could just dig up that one stubborn chip. Then she could have a little bit of each of the elements, all in the perfect proportions.

Miroku's eyes got even wider as the tip of a pink tongue emerged from between her lips. "Oh man," he said.

Sango looked around the table. Kagome, as always when she got near chocolate, was in her own little world. The two boys appeared to be fascinated by her behavior, their eyes fixated on her and unblinking.

"Oh for," Sango rolled her eyes. "Kagome," she said loudly, emphasizing her words with a sharp poke of her elbow.

"Yes? What? Yes? I agree. Ummm, what?" Kagome's words were quick and scattered as she was jolted out of her chocolate-induced haze. "What is it?"

The boys shot Sango a disappointed glance. She shook her head at them and then placed her hand on the table. The top was slightly sticky where someone had spilled soda. Distracted, Sango reached for a napkin.

At that moment, Miroku's purple eyes grew large. "Hey Inu," he spoke, "don't look now, but it's Sessumaru."

"Where?" demanded Inuyasha. Shooting out of the booth, he skidded in the direction that Miroku was facing.

Miroku chuckled and helped himself to Inuyasha's now-unguarded ice cream. "Works every time," he grinned.

"Who's Sessumaru?" Sango asked. Miroku was in the middle of explaining Inuyasha's family history when the boy himself came back to the table.

"Miroku," he growled. Further discussion was postponed as the girls watched Miroku attempt to scramble away from the irate teenager. Inuyasha, in an impressive demonstration of the powerful leaps that Kikyo had suspected him of earlier, cleared the booth and reached out for the rapidly retreating boy.

A few minutes later, the casual passerby would have seen four teenagers pile out the door of a faded old ice cream parlor.

"Jeez," said the boy with the yellow eyes, "They need to lighten up in there."

"Yeah," the others agreed.

There's nothing quite like being thrown out of a place together to help break the ice and cement a common bond. As the four walked back towards the studio, they were chattering and bantering as if they had known each other for all of their lives.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

"Hey Inuyasha, nice tights," Kagome called. It was the next Monday. They had been in the ballet class for a week already now, and Inuyasha was still sensitive about the macho-ness, or lack thereof, of his attire.

"Keh," Inuyasha ignored her.

Kagome turned back to the barre. Inuyasha, despite his self-consciousness, looked great; there was a certain strength and surety about his moves. In the three classes they'd had so far, he had proven himself to be a natural dancer.

"Hey beautiful," a silky voice whispered in her ear. Kagome jumped and blushed. Then she cursed herself for blushing; after all, it was only Miroku behaving in his usual lecherous manner. At least this time he hadn't tried to grope her.

The dark-haired boy was still in his purple tights, much to the chagrin of Inuyasha. As he stretched one leg out in front of himself, Kagome couldn't help but notice that he too was unusually graceful. Although he lacked the raw power of Inuyasha, his moves contained a smoothness that the other boy's lacked.

"How's it going, Miroku?" Kagome answered. As she turned away her eyes fell upon Sango, who was demonstrating a _pas de chat_ in the middle of the room. That girl's a natural, Kagome thought to herself. She sighed.

It wasn't that she was jealous of her friends' talent, it was just that she wished she shared a little more of it herself. Although she was not as sore as she had been last week, neither was she any more flexible. At that moment, as if to emphasize her own inner feelings of inferiority, Kaede walked by.

"Watch your turn-out, Kagome. And keep your shoulders down." Kagome sighed again, and tried to force her shoulders even lower.

Across the room, Inuyasha's eyes softened. He could see the frustration written in the lines of Kagome's body. Her back was stiffer than usual; her chin was tilted just a little too high. She didn't seem to realize how far she had come in just a week. Not her clothes, of course. She was still wearing the leopard print, although today's tights were fluorescent green. Sango had mentioned that she had had to forcibly stop Kagome from buying some rainbow-colored legwarmers over the weekend too. Inuyasha smiled to himself at the thought of it.

His small smile did not go unnoticed. From her corner, Kikyo's eyes narrowed. She had not been able to corner the long-haired boy after any of their classes last week since he was always surrounded by the other new students.

"Well, we'll see how long _they_ last," Kikyo grasped her ankle and extended her leg behind her. After all, soon the class would start thinning out for the recital.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Okay, class. Enough warm-ups. Everyone gather round, because there is something I want to discuss with you," Kaede shut off the music, her voice booming in the sudden silence.

The class formed a semi-circle around the teacher, the students sitting cross-legged on the polished hardwood floor. Kagome dropped down next to Inuyasha, only to find herself pushed aside.

"Excuse me," said Kikyo, coolly interjecting her own body in between the two of them.

Kagome glared. How rude. The other girl had spent all last week being calmly discourteous to her too. Kagome turned to Sango.

"I don't know what her problem is," she complained in a loud whisper. "She acts like we're competing or something. Which we're _not_." She wasn't even after the dogboy, as Miroku called him. ("It's a play on his name," he had explained last week, "Inu means dog.") Annoyed, Kagome focused back in on Kaede's words.

"Now, I don't know if all of you know, but it is a tradition of this class to put on a recital during the festival at the end of the summer. That's in two monthsk, people," Kaede looked around pointedly.

Next to Kagome, Sango suddenly stiffened in outrage. "I don't know what you think you're doing, but you'd better move that hand really quick buster," she said out of the corner of her mouth.

Kagome smothered a smile. Sounded like Miroku was up to his old tricks. By the time she had sneaked a peek, though, the boy was sitting with both hands in his lap and a sublimely innocent expression on his face. Seeing Kagome's glance, he winked at her. He was incorrigible; Kagome grinned back.

"Only the best students get in to the recital," unconscious of her unruly students, Kaede continued. "Those that are in it will be expected to devote much more time to dance. You must try out to be in the performance. Remember that competition is fierce, ok?"

As the class listened, some more respectfully then others, Kaede finished outlining the rules and traditions associated with the end-of-summer recital. When she finished, she dismissed class.

"Wow," said Sango, "It sounds like a really big deal."

"It is," said Kikyo, surprising them all. She had never willingly spoken to any of them other than Inuyasha. "Only the best students get in. And all those who participate are judged during the end-of-summer festival. The top student has a chance to win a fairly substantial grant."

"Fairly substantial?" repeated Kagome.

"Yeah," said Kikyo. "This year I hear it's up to five thousand dollars."

That certainly put a different spin on things, as far as Kagome was concerned. She had wondered why anyone would bother putting so much time and effort into something like a recital. But a cash reward now... Money had been tight in her family lately, five thousand dollars would sure help out the household.

"Hmm," said Kagome.

"I wouldn't worry about it though, if I were you, Kagome," Kikyo continued. "There's no way you'll make it past auditions."

Kagome's hands fisted at her side. Why that little... Before Kagome had a chance to do something she would later regret, Kikyo got gracefully to her feet. "See you around, Inuyasha," she said, walking towards the door.

"That's it," said Kagome. "I'm going to be in that recital if it's the last thing I do."


	4. Practice Makes Well, Almost Perfect?

A/N: Hello everyone! Here I am again, which means (as you can tell) I have run into plot troubles with my other story. Sigh. But still, this one is fun to work on, the plot is so much less convoluted. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Soon we will be getting into competition time, so sweat, tears, Kouga, and yes, I even have plans for little Shippo. Guesses, anyone? As always, my thanks to those who are reading!   
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this piece. Does this sound familiar to anyone else?

4. Practice Makes...Well, Almost Perfect?

"Guys, what're we going to do? I'm starting to think she's serious about this." Sango looked across the table. It was Wednesday afternoon and she, Miroku, and Inuyasha had gone to an ice cream parlour for some post-dance snacks.

"Seriously," agreed Miroku. "I mean, eating ice cream is so much more _boring _when there is no Kagome to watch, right Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha glanced up. "Keh, like I care," he said. "At least this way we don't have to look at her appalling clothing choices."

"Or other people don't," said Miroku, poking a friendly elbow into the other teenager's side. "We all saw the way you looked at that poor waiter who was admiring the...ahem...neckline of Kagome's shirt the other day. If a look could rip somebody's eyeballs out, that boy would have been spending the rest of his life being called "Mr. Cyclops" and parking in all the good spaces."

Inuyasha raised one disdainful eyebrow. "Excuse me?" He said.

Miroku turned to Sango, "Always playing innocent." He shook his head.

"Yes, yes, right, right." Sango shook her head impatiently, before leaning in on the table. "You guys, I'm serious about this. I think she really is going to try to make it into the competition."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that," said Miroku.

"Except that she's can be so crazy competitive. Seriously, I've hardly even seen her since Kaede mentioned it and Kikyo challenged her." Sango sighed. "I mean, all that practicing can't be healthy. And who knows what Kikyo keeps whispering at her every time she passes by."

Hmm. Inuyasha thought back to their dance class earlier. Now that he thought about it, he had seen Kagome behave rather oddly a couple times, both of which were right after Kikyo had walked past her.

"I just have a bad feeling about it," Sango finished. "And the tryouts are at the beginning of next week."

Inuyasha stared at his triple-mocha sundae with whipped cream. Now that Sango mentioned it, he was starting to have a bad feeling about it as well. But after all, it was a dance competition, how fierce could it get?

Miroku shrugged at Sango, "Look, if she doesn't calm down by the end of this week, then we'll figure something out, okay?"

Sango sighed. "I guess that's all we can do." She spooned up some sauce.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kagome shook her head, irritated with herself. Every class now, she stayed after for more practicing. She had also started up a morning work out routine, and on days when they didn't have classes, she had another, even bigger routine that she went through. It still wasn't enough though. She still lacked flexibility. Her hands tightened into fists.

"I don't think that's one of the accepted hand positions," a male voice called from just inside the door.

Kagome jumped, then whirled to face the speaker. "Inuyasha," she gasped, "You scared me!" She looked around her for something to throw (it was always her instinct to throw things when she was startled, or angry, or depressed, or just plain w  
hen there were things to throw around her), but saw nothing within reach.

"What're you doing here?" she studied him. He was leaning against the door with a casual air, dressed in his street clothes.

"Not much," he said. "But it just happens that Miroku and I were considering entering this competition. And Sango too, of course, so I came to see how your practicing was getting on."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. We figured you would hate to be the only one who's not in it, so I thought I should check up on you."

A soft grinding noise emanated from the region of Kagome's mouth. Was he patronizing her? "What makes you so sure that you'll get in?" she called.

"Well," Inuyasha leaned into the room a little, "As Kikyo would put it, I'm a natural." He flashed a set of even white teeth.

The grinding noise got louder as Kagome's molars met together again. "Dammit, Inu..." She started to yell, only to find that he had left the room.

"Pompous, arrogant, son of a ..." she was still muttering an hour later as she was on her way home. "I don't know where he gets that nerve of his...as if I were the one we need to worry about...questioning my ability...unbelievable, that's all I'm saying. And pretty damn insulting too!" She finished up with a shout.

"Umm, Kagome?"

Kagome spun abruptly as she felt the touch of a hand on her shoulder. "Oh, it's just you," she let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah," Sango studied her. "Who did you think it was? And you were shouting, by the way."

"Sorry," Kagome felt a sheepish grin tug at the corners of her mouth. "I guess I was just a little...irritated. First Kikyo, then Inuyasha. And I really, really need to concentrate on practicing." She finished, only mildly incoherently.

Sango eyed her friend with concern. "Look, Kags. We're all going to try out for the competition, why don't we practice together?"

The shorter girl looked up with a smile. "Okay, you're right. It was driving me crazy anyhow, plus I still need help with my chaine turns."

Sango smiled back. "Tomorrow, my house. Say 2:00?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"It is not a date you dumbass," Inuyasha's voice sounded exasperated and one hand shot out, presumably to teach the other boy a lesson, through the age old practice of corporeal punishment. Miroku, with the deftness acquired from many years practiced, skipped just out of reach.

"Call it what you like, my friend," he said, "All I'm saying is that we, no, make that _I, _am going over to my dear Sango's house, expressly by her invitation. Sounds like a date to me."

"I think it's more like an intervention," said Inuyasha. "Our purpose is to keep Kagome from doing anything stupid, after all. And that's not going to be an easy task." Miroku shot his friend a look. That kid was going to end up eating dirt one of these days, and he, personally, was not going to do a thing to help him when that day came. He opened his mouth to tell him so, when another thought struck his mind.

"Say, Inu," he said thoughtfully, "Kikyo must have really pissed her off, huh?"

"Seems like it," the other boy snorted.

When the two arrived at Sango's house, Kagome was already there. Inuyasha, walking into the room, nearly fell over. "Where's the leopard print?" he asked in disbelief. Kagome appeared to be standing in the middle of the room, doing her plies, wearing a normal black leotard. Granted, the tights were still flourescent, and she appeared to have tied her hair back with some sort of big floppy thing that would have been an abomination even in the eighties, but for her that was positively tame.

"I knew you'd like it," she said with a grin. "I'm test-driving a traditional. Sango pointed out that my appearance might affect the judges' perceptions of me."

"My dear Kagome," Miroku walked up to her, "Have you forgotten your principles? Are you caving in to the pressure of a conformist society?"

"Yep," said Kagome. "But only for now, don't worry." Her eyes narrowed. "And watch that hand."

Miroku hastily moved the digits, with a quick glance at Inuyasha. Luckily his friend appeared to be occupied with other thoughts.

"Alright everyone, into your tights!" Called Sango from the doorway. Seeing her, Miroku swept over to give her the traditional "greeting." While the two of them were preoccupied with their ritual, Inuyasha stepped up to Kagome. It looked like she was getting better; no doubt about it she was learning the moves. But still. He was surprised to see her work so hard, or let a few comments from Kikyo rattle her so much. Maybe he would ask Sango about it later.

"How long have you been here?" was all he said though.

"About half an hour," she answered him, panting slightly. She leaned back to turn off the stereo, just in time for them both to hear a loud slap ringing through the room.

"He's never going to learn," groaned Inuyasha.

"Nah," said Kagome, "In a weird way, it's a part of his charm."

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kikyo looked up with a frown, as the four new students came walking in. They seemed to be getting even closer together. How was she ever going to pick Inuyasha out from the herd now? She groaned. That Kagome girl did not seem to be giving up. If anything, her determination to get a part in the end of year recital seemed to have solidified over the past week. If she put even half of that energy into practicing... Kikyo didn't bother to finish the thought, as the music started and class began.

Head tilted to one side, she studied the new girl's moves. Her balance was better, and she seemed to have more confidence in herself. She also was remembering the names of all the steps much more now. Still, her turnout needed work, and she wasn't all that flexible. With a frown, Kikyo straightened her head and raised her arms into position. If she kept up the rate that she was improving though, things could be very difficult indeed. And really, who knew that she would have improved so much in such a short period of time?"

Kikyo wasn't the only one who was watching. Across the room, Inuyasha's eyes were also turned towards the dark-haired girl. She had definitely improved, he could see, but would it be enough?

At that moment, Kaede stopped the music and clapped her hands together. "Everyone," she called, "I'd like you to gather round. I have a few things to say about the competition for the recital."

The students all obediently circled up, Kikyo deftly interposing herself between Inuyasha and the rest of the group. Miroku let out an amused chuckle at the sight, but tried not to be too loud about it. Inuyasha looked slightly panicked, the same look he always wore when Kikyo got close to him. Miroku shook his head. With how jumpy he acted, he mused, you'd think Inuyasha was afraid of the girl.

"Now," continued Kaede, "The judging for the competition will be on Monday, as you all know. That means you have the weekend to practice for it. I expect all of you to try out, although, unfortunately, not all of you will be able to be in it."

A few murmurs ran around the room at this, but stopped when the teacher held up her hand.

"You should perform a short piece--that means thirty seconds or under--and then be able to run through a few steps that we ask you to do. I've also been watching you here in the classroom, so I am somewhat familiar with what you guys are capable of. The judges will be myself and the choreographer."

Kagome raised her hand, "Will it take place in this room?"

"No. We'll be down in the big auditorium. But it will be at the same time as your usual class, so make sure you don't forget." She smiled at them. "Oh, and remember, members of the other classes will also be competing. Class dismissed."

As they trudged towards the door, Kagome put a hand to her head. "Oh god," she moaned, "The other classes. How could I have forgotten them?"

"I shouldn't worry about it," Kikyo came up behind her. "Why waste the little brain power you have on something that there is no hope of you even getting?"

Kagome glared at her. "I wouldn't be so confident if I were you," she replied.

"Hey Kikyo," Sango interjected, "What's the usual format of the recital? Is it a formal ballet like Swan Lake, or something else?"

Kikyo turned to her. She'd almost forgotten about Sango, which, she reminded herself, was foolish. Sango was the real threat to her position, the graceful girl had improved almost as rapidly as her obnoxious friend. Still, she kept her face neutral, "It's usually a series of shorter pieces," she said, "No cohesive theme or story line, but small pieces to showcase the talent of the individuals." Then she turned and walked away.

Kagome stared at her retreating back. "Wow," she said to Sango, "That was positively civil. Should I be jealous?"

"I am," said Miroku, coming up behind him with that unnerving stealthiness of his. "This means that I am the only one of us that she still hasn't spoken to." He tried to stick his lip out in a pout, but it wasn't terribly convincing.

"Come on," said Sango, "Let's go change." She dragged Kagome to the changing room, "We've got a long weekend ahead of us."

Miroku sighed. "I think that means no ice cream today," he told Inuyasha.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. It was, indeed, going to be a long weekend of practicing.

Five minutes later, Kagome emerged from the changing room, wearing her everyday clothes and a very determined expression. She was going to practice all weekend, and come Monday she was going to impress the pants off the judges. After a moment of thought, she revised that phrase as a quick mental image ran across her mind; she was going to impress them very much, but not so much that anybody ended up in a half-naked state. Or something. She shook her head. "I think we've been hanging around with Miroku too much," she whispered to Sango.

Sango gave her a bemused look and shook her head.  



End file.
